Lubricator for deep-well drills and the like



THE LIKE 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l O. DUDA LUBRI-CATOR FOR DEEP WELL DRILLS AND Filed Feb. 2

April 7, 1925.

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April 7, 1925.

O. DUDA LUBRICATOR FOR DEEP WELL DRILLS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 2 sheets-sheet 2 lll --l Il \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\v\\\\. im

Patented Apr. 7,v 1925.

UNITED, STATESv OSWALD DUDA, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, AJSSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 REED PATENT OFFICE.

ROLLER BIT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF TEXAS.

LUBRICATOR FOR DEEP-WELL DRILLS AND THE LIKE.

Application tiled February 2, 1923. Serial No. 616,576.

To a-ZZ lwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, OSWALD DUDA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident` of Houston, in the county of Harrisand State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricators for Deep-Well Drills and the like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to rotary cutter oil well drills having capacity for efficient operation at great depths beneath the surface of the earth as is necessa in drilling socalled deep wells and its object is to provide a device of this sort which is particularly simple in construction and highly eiiicient in4 use, and it includes the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

One embodiment of my invention is disclosed in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of my invention.

In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus, the section at the lower end bein taken on radial planes 90'apart.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the bladed member at the upper end of the screw rod.

Fig. 3 isa side view of the same.

Figs. 4 and 5 show the cap piece for the lubricator.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a socket piece.

Figs. 8 and 9 show a part. of the screw shaft.

Fig. 10 is a larger-sectional view of the lubricator.

In the drawin 1 is a part of the drill stem through which flushing Huid is forced by a pum on the drill rig platform for removing tEe detritus, which passes upv between the drill stem and the wall of the well, after being dislodged by the cutters. These cutters may be of various `forms and arrangements. They consist in the form chosen to illustrate my invention of side cutters 2, a. cross roller cutter 3 and reaming cutters 7 that are arranged in recesses of the drill head which acts as acarrier therefor. To lubricate the bearings of these cutters with a. heavy oil I show, as an example of my invention, a tube 4 arranged coaxially within the drill stem, and within the same, said tube being screw threaded at its lower end onto a socket or coupling member 5 which in turn is screw threaded into some part of the drill head. In the instance illustrated this socket is screw threaded into the reamer block 6, which carries reaming cutters 7 for reaming out the well hole formed yby the cutters at the lower end of the ap- 'bore 11 of the reamer block to conduits 12 `of the drill head, which deliver it to the recesses of the head in which the rotary cutters are located so that the cuttings or material cut or dislodged by the cutters will be carried up outside of the drill stem to be discharged from the well. v

The lubricant forced from the reservoir 4, as hereinafter described, passes through the conduit 13 ofjzhe socket member 5 into the cup shaped space 14 at the upper end of the reamer block, thence through conduits 15 to a central lubricant holding chamber 16 of the ldrill head, from whence distribution takes place throughconduits 17 to the bearings of the cutters -at the lower end of the head and distribution also takes place through the conduits 18 to the reamer cutters.

The lubricant is forced through these various conduits from the reservoir 4 by a piston 19. A rotatable screw threaded rod or shaft 20 passes through the piston, which has screw threaded engagement therewith.v

This screw threaded rod bears at its lower end in a socket 21 of the socket member 5 and at its upper end it bears in and passes through the cap 22, which is screw threaded into the upper end of the lubricant reservoir.

A block 23 having peripheral blades 24 is fxedly secured to the end of rod 20 projecting through the cap '22. This upper end has a square portion 20 and rthe member 23 is provided with a s uare opening to correspond. A nut 20x olds the member 23 in place.

The blades, or laterally projectin portions 24 of block 23, reach out over t e annular s ace 8 between the lubricant reservoir an the .drill stem. These lateral projections or blades preferably have inclined surfaces 25, vertical faces 26, and horizontal lower faces 26'. The u per edge of vthe member 23 is preferably lievelle In order to space or brace the upper end of the lubricant reservoir from the wall of the drill stem, I may form the cap member 22 with lugs 27 to bear on the. inner side of the drill stem. These lugs are pref-l erably unequal in number in respect to the number of blades or projections on the member 23 and preferably their upper 'faces are inclined in the opposite direction in respect to the inclined faces 25.

I have provided a thrust bearing for the screw shaft to resist the back pressure exerted up through the lubricant ports and the body of the lubricant, consisting of a collar 28 shrunk on the plain part of the screw shaft and'bearing on the under side of the cap 22. This plain upper end` of the screw shaft is slightly reduced forminga shoulder bearing on the under side of the collar. Thisy construction will resist all tendency for the screw shaft to unduly lift under back pressure exerted on the piston.

The piston may be made up of a main block portion with a downward extension carrying a disc 29 between which and the main part a piston packing 30 is held. The disc is held 1n place by a nut 31. A reasonably close lit is provided between the bearing incap 22-and the shaft or rod 2O and a machined surface on the cap about the shaft cooperates with a machined surface on the bottom of block 23.

The lower end of the screw rod where it tits into the socket member is plain, and in replenishing the reservoir it will only be necessary to `unscrew the cap and lift out c the piston together with the screw rod or lift the parts out far enough to expose the bore of the tube for refilling.

The piston packing ts vtightly against the wall of thev lubricant holder and has no rotary movement relative thereto, but only movement lengthwise of the said holder.

In the operation of the apparatus, flushing fluid is forced down through the drill stem, and through the passages described` to clear the cutters of the material cut from the sides and bottom of the hole and to carry it up outside the drill stem to be discharged from the well at the surface of the ground. The member 23 will cause a relative movement rotatively between the screw rod and piston and the latter, therefore will be fed down positively and will cause the lubricant to be forced from the holder through the ports described tothe parts to be lubricated.

In the described construction there will be no reverse rotation of the member 23 as the tool is lowered into the bore hole, and as the piston cannot be forced upwardly by the Lacasse water pressure, the lubricant will not be forced from the bearings back into the holder.

I claim:

1. The combination with a drill stem, a rotary cutter and a carrier` in which it is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel,.a detachable cap, a piston in the barrel, a screw shaft for operating the piston, an actuator carried by the shaft and a base memberfor the barrel having water and lubricant passageways therethrough, and a socket closed at its bottom and receiving the plain lower end of the screw shaft removably, and a thrust bearing at the upper end of the screw shaft beneath the cap.

2. The, combination Vwith a drill stem, rotary cutter and member in which the cutter is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel, a ycap detachably mounted at the upper end of the barrel, a base member carried by the first named member and provided with an axial socket,'said base member forming a connection between the barrel and the memberY i'irst mentioned, a screw rod having a lower end bearing in said socket and its upper end passing out through the. cap, a thrust bearing for the screw rod against the under side of said cap, and an actuator secured to the upper end of the screw rod, said actuator being of substan-` tially the diameter of the interior of the drill stem. A

3. The combination with a' drill stem, rotary cutter and member in which the cutter is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel, a cap detachably mounted at the upper end of the barrel, a base member carried by the first named member'and provided with an axial socket, a screw rod having a lower end bearing in said socket and its upper end passing out through the cap, a thrust bearing for the screw rod against the under side of said cap, and an actuator secured to the upper end of the screw rod, said actuator having a body portion substantially of the diameter of the barrel and wings or blades extending across the space between the barrel and drill' stem.

4. The combinationv with a drill stem, rotary cutter and member in which the cutter is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel, a cap detachably' mounted 'at the upper end of the barrel, a base member carried by the first named member and provided with an axial socket, a screw rod having a lower end bearing in said socket and its upper end passing out through the cap, a thrust bearing for the screw rod against the under side ofsaid cap, and an actuator secured to the upper endof the screw rod, said actuator having peripheral wings or blades with substantially horizontally die presented. faces.

5. The combination with a drill stem, rotary cutter and member in which the cutter is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel, a cap detachably mounted at the upper` end of the barrel, a base member carried by the first named member and provided with an axial socket, a screw rod having a lower end bearing in said socket and its upper end passing out through the cap, a thrust bearing for the screw rod against the under side of said cap, and an actuator secured to the upper end of the screw rod, said actuator having peripheral wings or blades vwith substantially horizontally disposed under faces and inclined upwardly presented faces, said faces being resented in the direction of rotation of the ill stem. 6. The combination with a drill stem, a rotary cutter and a carrier in which'it is journalled, of a lubricator comprising a barrel, a piston in the barrel, a screw shaft for operating the piston, an actuator carried by the shaft and a basemember for the barrel having a head' and a vstem of reduced diameter threaded for engagement with said carrier, saidmember having a water passageway extending through its stem and opening out through the side of its head, and having a lubricant passageway through its head opening out through the lower face thereof contiguous the stem, and said head being further' provided with a socket closed at its bottom and receiving the end of the screw shaft.

7. In combination in a deep well drilling apparatus, a rotary drill stem, a cutter, a carrier therefor having a central bore for flushing Huid and being connected to the drill stem, a lubricantholder within the drill stem, including a part connecting the holder with said carrier and having a central bore to connect with the central bore of the carrier and with lateral Vports connecting holder in the water space of the drill stem,

substantially as described.

In testimony `whereof I affix my signature.

oswALn DUDA. 

